


Like Something Deadly

by AdorabloodthirstyKitty



Series: Heart In A Cage [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Prison, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 00:39:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9355358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdorabloodthirstyKitty/pseuds/AdorabloodthirstyKitty
Summary: It wouldn't be the first time one of the prisoners tried to seduce a guard to regain freedom.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GalaxyGhosty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyGhosty/gifts).



> happy birthday love!! I've been wanting to write more for this little oneshot I did for gg for a while now, and her birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity, so here we are! the first bit is copied straight from the oneshot, so if you've read chapter 12 of the oneshot collection the first part of this will be eerily familiar! sorry for that!! hope you like it though gg, and everyone else reading!

It was a seemingly normal afternoon in the dungeons of the Kjellberg House, the prisoners in their usual state of unrest. Jack McLoughlin, a veteran guard of the cells, was making his rounds, slow and meticulous, calm and sure. He was one of the longest standing guards in the dungeons, and was respected by his fellow guards. He had done this for years now, and had seen just about everything now that he was in charge of the worst criminals in their block. So when a small hoard of guards surrounding a lone prisoner came marching down his corridor, he remained calm, stepping back to allow the group to pass by, heading for the furthest cell in the back corner, away from all the other prisoners. He waited as the group passed, looking toward the middle of the small crowd and spotting dark hair before the prisoner's head rose, and eyes the deepest crimson Jack had ever seen met his own, holding his gaze until the guards pushed him into his cell, shackled and chained like something deadly. Jack watched as the guards shut his door and locked it behind them, one of the younger guys, Ryan, stopping beside him to fill him in.

"Why didn't you remove his chains?" is the first question out of Jack's mouth, cutting Ryan off before he can even get a word in.

"Do you know who he is?" Ryan asks, hushed and wide-eyed, as if sharing especially juicy gossip. "He's the one that's been seen all over the kingdom, causing disturbances and harming the citizens. He’s the one that put half of the pub in the infirmary a couple weeks back."

"You know the rules, Ryan. He's allowed the use of his limbs unless he is a substantial threat to himself or others."

Ryan looks as though he's about to argue but Jack raises a hand, eyes still firmly on the bars of the cell, unable to see the room or it's prisoner from his post at the middle of the hall, the small mob of guards already heading back to their own posts.

Jack holds a hand out for the keys to the prisoner's chains, and reluctantly Ryan relinquishes them, though he looks as though he wants to continue arguing against it. Jack ignores the worried look in his eye, taking the keys and striding to the furthest cell.

The prisoner stands a few feet from the bars, eyes falling on Jack as he comes into view, watching him closely. He's been silent since he walked into the dungeons, an uncommon occurrence for any of the prisoners. Jack steps up to the bars, keys in hand as he meets deep red eyes like nothing else he's ever seen.

"Turn around and step up to the bars, please," Jack orders, the prisoner's brow rising as he blinks at Jack, looking him up and down before turning around and backing up, the metal bars pressed to his shoulder blades, pressing into his back as he waits for Jack to free him. Jack kneels to unlock his ankles first, pulling the heavy metal chains into the corridor, out of reach of the prisoner before standing to unlock his wrists.

"What's your name, beautiful?"

Jack's eyes fly up to look toward the prisoner's face, turned to meet Jack’s eyes over a broad shoulder. Jack looks back to the chains.

"Officer McLoughlin to you," he replies curtly, knowing the lengths some prisoners will go to escape. It wouldn't be the first time one of the prisoners tried to seduce a guard to regain freedom.

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Officer. And you'll be guarding me?" he asks, a slow smirk settling on his face, bright eyes shining mischievously.

"I guard this whole block. I'm keeping you, along with the twenty or so other prisoners, from doin anymore harm than ye've already done, to yourselves, each other, or anyone else."

"I feel safe in your hands, Officer," he grins, the shackles finally coming undone under Jack's hands, pulling the chains away as the prisoner rubs at his wrists, turning to face the guard fully.

"Has anyone ever told you your accent is sexy as hell?" he asks, hands coming forward to wrap around the bars, leaning as close to Jack as he can with smouldering crimson eyes and a smirk that promises nothing good. Jack meets his gaze, dead-eyed and not at all impressed.

"I'll be checkin on ye later. Dinner is in a couple hours. Ye just missed lunch, so I can get ye somethin if ye can’t wait til dinner."

The prisoner continues smirking, eyes roaming over Jack again.

"How about you? I'm sure you taste just as delicious as you look."

Jack frowns, giving a small, exasperated sigh.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

The prisoner pauses, studying Jack before shrugging his shoulders lightly.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, gorgeous. So long as I get to look at you all day."

Jack doesn’t even bother to reply, stooping to pick up the shackles before marching toward the storage room at the intersection of the blocks, the prisoner's voice following him down the hall, bouncing off the walls from all sides.

"I look forward to seeing you later, Officer!"

Jack ignores him and continues on.

-

Days and nights blend together, seeping into each other in the dark of the dungeons. Jack man's his post with his usual professionalism and cool gaze, even with the addition of his new admirer's leering and comments. The man at the back of Jack’s block keeps to himself, only bothering to speak or be seen when Jack marches toward his cell. Jack learns a few things from watching and listening, from the little comments and bits of conversation the prisoner is willing to share.

"Dark," the man introduces himself the first night, Jack’s hand between his shoulder blades as he leads him to the mess hall, chains clinking from around his ankles and wrists as he trudges forward. His voice is low, quiet enough that only Jack can hear as he leads him down the hall and out toward the mess hall in the upper floors of the dungeon, passing countless empty cells on their trek to the cafeteria.

"Just Dark?" Jack asks conversationally, storing the information away as they head up.

"To anyone else. You're free to call me anything you wish, beautiful," Dark smirks, Jack meeting bright red eyes with the same bored look he's given every time Dark says something flirtatious or sexual, which is often, even being here for only a few hours.

"I'm gonna have to keep yeh shackled here. The other guards believe yeh to be more of a threat than the other prisoners here."

"Do you?"

Jack's eyes slide back to Dark's, his face no longer pulled into it's usual smirk, eyes searching.

"Do I believe yeh to be more of a threat than the other prisoners?"

"Yes."

"I'm not sure yet. But for the safety of yourself, the other prisoners, and the peace of mind of the other guards, yer ankles will be left shackled. You'll have free use of your hands. If yeh play nice you'll get yer ankles free, too, eventually."

"You're not afraid I'll hurt someone once I get out of the chains?" Dark asks, shaking a wrist to rattle the heavy chains tying his hands behind him.

"Everyone has the capacity to hurt someone. Doesn't mean they will. And if yeh do, or anyone else does, we're trained to stop it. My job's not just to walk up and down a hallway gettin leered at by prisoners."

"I can't help it if a pretty little thing like you is walking right outside my door. You're the only good thing here."

"Is that supposed to be flattering?"

Before Dark can answer they're entering the cafeteria, dozens of huge tables and seats sitting in rows, filling the huge room. It's noisy and crowded, the smell of too many people mingling with the unknown meat they serve on the right, the kitchen staff and the food sitting behind glass as a line of prisoners takes their plates and heads to their seats.

Jack leads Dark to the back of the line, stepping behind him and unshackling his hands, the prisoner flexing his hands and rolling his wrists, the skin red and irritated from the heavy metal cutting into his skin. Jack makes a mental note to loosen them a little when they head back to the cells before pocketing the shackles and stepping out of line.

"You're not staying?" Dark asks, dark eyebrow raised in question as the ghost of a smile pulls the corner of Jack’s mouth up the slightest amount.

"I don't think yeh need me hovering. I trust you understand how to get food and find a seat. I will be lookin out fer yeh, though, and we head back to yer cell as soon as yer done."

"I'll count the seconds until I see you again, Officer," Dark grins, that not-quite smile still on Jack’s face as he spins around on his heels to head back to his station near the far corner, where some of the more violent offenders tend to migrate. He stands near the back corner, hands behind his back and back straight, eyes flitting around the men sitting around him, the line of prisoners waiting for their food. It's a bit of a relief to come up here every day, even if it's one of the more stressful parts of the watch. It's nice to get out of the deepest parts of the dungeons and see sunlight during the mornings and afternoons, to have a chance to talk to some of the other guards or prisoners. It also happens to be one of the more dangerous times of day, any large gathering of dangerous men holding the threat of violence, the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. So Jack watches, silent and careful, for the next half hour or so. He watches as prisoners move from table to table and line to seat, keeping tabs on certain prisoners, including Dark. He stands, head high and back ramrod straight, and he waits.

-

Dark's first dinner in the dungeons goes well, with only a couple small skirmishes among a couple inmates here and there. For the next few days, Dark is the perfect inmate, keeping to himself and not starting fights, not actively trying to fight anyone or break out. He's calm and cool and collected, his continued flirtatious remarks the only problem Jack has. But he deals with it, because it's not so bad, not half as bad as some of the shit inmates have spat at him in the past.

It's almost a week into Dark's sentence when the other foot falls.

He's sitting at his usual spot, a seat near the far right of the room, a ways away from the clumps of inmates and lone men. Jack walks up and down the rows, eyes scanning the room before a familiar voice cuts through the din of the cafeteria like blades against glass.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing here? Move!"

Jack's eyes fly to the sudden growl, an inmate they've had problems with before catching his eye immediately as he stalks toward the scene. Dennis Leary is a large man, hair short and scars mapping out a lifetime of violence in the skin hidden by prison garb. His latest victim, a newer inmate Jack doesn’t know the name of, glares openly from his seat, squaring up his shoulders as he opens his mouth to retort, Dennis' hands clenching around his plate.

Before Jack can get to the small group circling the men, another officer, Wade, steps between the two, eyes on Dennis.

"What seems to be the problem here?"

Jack steps into the small bubble of space encompassing the three just in time to see Dennis' hands grip the metal plate in his hands hard enough to warp the edges, moving toward him in quick strides as the inmate's death-glare shifts to Wade.

"That's enough. Leary, if yeh don’t move yer ass from here immediately I'll drag yeh to yer cell myself."

Jack sees the muscles in his arm shift just in time to step back, Leary's arm swinging back toward him, hard enough that the plate would probably have ended up embedded in his neck if he hadn't moved just in time. He uses Leary's momentum against him, tripping him up as he turns toward him and jumping back as he goes down like a ton of bricks, plate clattering and head knocking against a chair leg on his way down. Jack steps over him and pulls his wrists behind him in a quick, smooth motion, chaining his hands behind his back while Wade gets his ankles, looking to Jack and giving a small smile and nod, a silent thank you. Jack nods back and steps back as Wade grabs him by the wrists and hauls him up, leading him to solitary as Jack looks over the mob surrounding him, having expected a fight. "Back to the meal with yeh," Jack orders, leaving more than a few annoyed and disappointed prisoners to turn back to their food. Jack starts back toward his usual spot, eyes scanning the room when they catch a familiar pair of ruby red.

Dark's eyes are trained on him, even more so than usual. His gaze piercing, as though looking into Jack’s soul. Jack holds his gaze, ignoring the instinct to look at anything else but the bright eyes dissecting him. Just before Jack is about to turn away, not wanting to ignore his duties or trip spectacularly because he was too busy having a small staring contest with Dark, Dark’s lips pull up in a small smile, the first that he's made besides the smirks sent Jack’s way. Dark smiles, leaving Jack unsure whether to smile back or not. He doesn't get the chance to decide, turning away to continue watching over the prisoners. But each time Jack’s eyes catch Dark's, the inmate is watching him closely, as though he never stopped, nor had any plans to stop in the near future.

-

The few days Leary spends in solitary are quieter than most, Dennis' goons eyeing Jack with mild contempt. Dark continues his staring and comments directed only at Jack, keeping to himself otherwise. Jack notices a couple guys try to catch Dark's attention here and there every once in a while, but he brushes them off, ignoring them completely until they give up. Jack's not sure what to make of his behavior, keeping to himself and only ever speaking to Jack. On Jack’s breaks the officers that take his place never comment about Dark, and eventually Jack pulls Wade aside, who had been stationed in Jack's block while he grabbed a quick bite from the kitchen.

"How was the block?" Jack asks as he meets up with Wade at the mouth of the hall, Wade giving him a smile in greeting before he answers.

"Same as usual. Pretty quiet besides the heckling."

"How did Dark treat yeh?" he asks, curious as to how the inmate may have acted around a new guard.

"Who?"

"Dark. Guy at the end of the hall?"

"You mean short, buff, and scary? Silent as a shadow. I hate going down there, man. I don’t know how you deal with it."

"What do yeh mean?"

"He just gives me the willies. He's so quiet! I'd forget he was there completely if I didn't feel him staring out at me with those crazy eyes of his. I didn't even know he gave a name til you said it just now. Dark?"

"Yeah, that’s what he told me."

" _He_ told you? You mean he actually talks?"

"Yeah? Talks to me any time he can get the chance."

"I've never heard him make a peep," Wade replies, looking honestly surprised. Jack frowns, a bit surprised by the new information. He knew Dark didn't seem to socialize much around other inmates, but he had thought he would have said something to someone other than Jack.

"Hm. Alright, head on back to yer post, Barnes. I'll see yeh later."

"See ya, McLoughlin," Wade replies, heading back down the hall toward the stairs, up to his post in normal lockup as Jack begins his patrol down the block.

-

Leary is sent back to the common blocks a few days later. Jack isn't even aware until lunch, when he catches sight of a more haggard-looking Leary eyeing him from the lunch line as he walks along the right wall, watching the prisoner's grab their meals before wandering to the tables. Jack doesn’t pay him any more mind than usual, turning his back toward the line as he looks out over the tables.

He isn't aware of one of Leary's goons slipping the other a knife, unaware of Leary's intentions as he stops at the end of the line, turning to face Jack’s back. He's just starting to turn around, aware of someone close behind him, when his movement is cut off my a knife pressed to his Adam's apple.

"I'll teach you for making a fool out of me," he hears Leary growl, his acrid breath fanning out along the side of his face, the knife slowly pushing further into the thin skin of his throat. He can't move, has no room to knock him back or grab his club, he's going to die-

"Let him go, asshole."

Jack can feel his heart in his throat at the familiar voice, usually quiet and sweet now filled with fury, Leary turning himself and Jack both to face his opposition.

Dark stands before Dennis with no weapon, shorter by a head and at least fifty pounds lighter than his opponent. Jack can hear the smirk in Leary's voice as he sneers back at Dark.

"And what if I don't, freak?"

"I'll kill you before the guards can stop me," is Dark's reply, so low Jack can barely hear him from only a foot or two away. He can practically feel his smirk as Dennis presses harder into his skin, finally nicking the skin, blood oozing from the small cut. Jack sees Dark's eyes land on the knife, the blood it draws, and his whole body freezes, scarlet eyes meeting Leary's over Jack’s shoulder.

"You'll regret that."

In the blink of an eye Dark charges, his body a blur as he barrels forward. Leary only has enough time to loosen his hold on the knife and take a single step back before Dark wrenches Leary's arm back,  bone cracking and forearm bending back at an unnatural angle as a scream makes it's way out of Leary's throat, cut off as Dark pushes Jack away and knocks Dennis bodily to the stone floor.

Jack doesn’t even realize Dark's shackles aren't at his hip until he watches, dazed, as Dark pulls the chain taut against Dennis' neck, choking off his air and leaving the man desperately trying to shove Dark off, the knife knocked from his hand in the skirmish. Jack jumps to his feet as another guard runs forward, knowing he won't make it in time. Jack reaches forward and wraps his arms around Dark, pulling him back hard away from the man choking underneath him. Dark struggles but doesn't lash out, kicking hard at Leary as he's pulled off him, Leary's neck dark from the pressure of the chains as he gasps and coughs on the cold stone floor before being taken back to the nurse's station in chains.

Jack pulls the chains from Dark's shaking grip, clamping his wrists behind him as he pulls him to his cell in the dungeons. There's no use in sending him to solitary; his cell is just as closed off. He's silent as he leads Dark down familiar hallways, and Dark is, too. It's the first time Dark hasn't attempted to speak to Jack on their walk through the halls, but Jack welcomes the silence, mind still spinning from the suddenness of the events from moments before.

They stop at Dark's cell, Jack leading him in and shutting the barred door behind him, waiting for Dark to step back enough so he can unchain him.

"Why are you doing that?"

Jack looks up from pulling off his chains, Dark looking back at him with a small, confused frown as he rubs his wrists and turns to face Jack head-on.

"Leary is obviously more a threat than you are. Though I'd suggest not doin somethin like that again," Jack replies, the hint of a smile edging at the corner of his mouth.

"I wasn't about to let him hurt you," he replies evenly, eyes steely before they find the small mark left on Jack’s neck, anger flashing over his features before he let's out a huff, looking so, so tired. "I'm sorry I didn't notice in time. He's lucky he's not fucking dead on the floor."

"So are you. Yeh would've earned yourself a life sentence if you had."

Dark makes a rude noise, as if completely uncaring of the fact.

"Leary's not the most popular here, but he had followers. They're not gonna let this slide so easily."

"I'll kill them."

"Like fuck you will. Yer staying here indefinitely. No more cafeteria for you and no public showering, if we can help it. Yer stayin as far from the rest of the prisoners as possible."

Dark gives a brief shrug, still looking irritated before his eyes search Jack’s face, crimson eyes landing on the nick again and sighing, the fight knocked out of him, leaving him looking so, so tired.

"I wish I could kiss it better," he says, freezing Jack where he stands with the small comment, the softness of his eyes as he looks up from the cut to meet Jack’s gaze.

"I'll live," Jack gets out, a small smile pulling at Dark's face.

"Doesn't mean I'll stop wanting to kiss you."

Jack pauses, the thumping of his heart and the smile he's fighting to keep off his face making him act foolishly for the first time in all his years in these dungeons as he steps closer to the bars, crimson eyes holding him captive as he draws near.

"Now that you're going to be kept from the rest of the population, they'll most likely want a guard to look after you," he says, keeping his tone neutral. Dark nods and he continues.

"And I, being one of the longest-standing guards here, would be the most qualified for the job, seeing as I've kept you in line since you were brought in."

Dark's eyes grow a bit wider, searching Jack’s face as a smile begins to creep across his handsome features, Jack's own face still as impassive as ever, though his eyes twinkle with mirth.

"Officer McLoughlin keeping little old me safe? I feel better already," Dark grins, hands coming forward to grip the bars between them, stepping as close as he possibly can to Jack as he smiles out at him.

"That's Sean to you. Though friends and family call me Jack."

Dark's eyes grow even wider, as though he were just given his freedom back, still smiling out at Jack, though it's softer now, but no less genuine and no less happy.

"I look forward to it, Sean."


End file.
